Following Angelina Jolie‘s announcement that she’s undergone surgery to remove her ovaries due to a cancer gene – BRCA1 – which made it all but certain she would end up contracting the disease, Kelly Osbourne has revealed that she’ll be undergoing the procedure herself for the same reasons.
Here’s the scoop, via BBC Newsbeat:
The TV star and former fashion reporter was talking about Jolie’s decision to have preventative cancer surgery on CBS show The Talk.
The 30-year-old said: “I actually do have the cancer gene.”
Her mother, Sharon, also has the gene and had a double mastectomy in 2012. “My mom made all of us get tested. I agree with this 100%,” said Kelly.
“I know that one day I will eventually have to do it too because if I have children, I want to be there to bring them up.”
“I want to be there to support them in every way I can.”
“It’s something I applaud Angelina for because she’s bringing attention to this, and people are now going to go out and get tested for it.”
I think to many, undergoing precautionary surgery of this degree probably seems drastic or over-the-top, but I think it’s smart. The elevated risk of those with the genetic mutation is INSANE, and I’d much rather not have boobs or ovaries than to deal with cancer later on in life. But, as Angelina herself has pointed out in the several op-eds she’s written on the topic, the decision is an extremely personal one and certainly not an easy one, especially for women who want to start a family, etc. As I said, one day, I really hope that we’ll have a cure for cancer, but in the meantime, I think it’s worth it to do whatever we can to fight it ourselves.